After almost two years of preparation, an event that was meant to bring together the worlds of art and charity for an evening finally took place on October 7^th. Dave had invited René Prêtre, Swiss person of the year 2009, to his hometown of Laufen. Mr Prêtre, who is chief physician for heart surgery at the Zürich children's hospital, owes his high profile to the charitable work he does with his foundation "Le petit coeur", which provides free heart operations for children in need in developing countries.

Around a hundred guests were invited to see the exhibition, which took place in a space of around 1000 m². The evening's highlights were Mr Prêtre's presentation, which offered fascinating insights into his charitable work, and the first showing of the performance "Tote Episode" ("Dead episode"), held in complete darkness with the aid of fluorescent paint.

The goals of the evening were to create a cultural experience that falls outside of the usual patterns, and to raise awareness for the problems in developing countries as well as encouraging personal initiative. In order to contribute to this personally as well, Dave will be donating 20% of the proceeds for any work of his that is sold until the end of November 2011 to "Le petit coeur".

Special thanks go out to Bank Valiant, who not only contributed significantly to the evening's success with their sponsorship, but also by taking on with great energy much of the organisational effort required to make it happen, as well as making a donation of their own to "Le petit coeur".

A few impressions of the event and performance can be found in the slideshow above. (Photography: Dani Altermatt, airwave.ch)

Selected works by Dave are currently on display to the public at Charlottenstrasse 65 in Berlin, near the historic Gendarmenmarkt, and will remain so for the next two years.

A few surprises are planned for this exhibition... More to follow.

Here are a few sneak impressions...

After a creative process that lasted for almost the entire year, Dave's fourth world cup work of art has finally been completed! Bearing the title "REACHING FOR THE STARS", it marks the breaking of new ground in several ways for Dave. For instance, this is the first time that such a work has been completed not before, but during the world cup. This made it possible for Dave to include impressions of the competition's actual events -- numerous scenes that took place inside and outside of South Africa's stadiums this summer are depicted on it.

Since the first world cup in an African country was an event of great importance for the entire continent, Dave's goal was to create a work of art that dealt not just with football, but also lived up to the full depth of the event's historical background and its implications for the continent's future. This can easily be seen in the work's motifs: Nelson Mandela reaches his hand through the bars of his prison cell, a plant grows out of the dusty soil of the townships, and young children, playing football on a gigantic pane of glass, celebrate a goal. Two overdimensional players in gold and silver symbolize the competition, and on them, impressions of the world cup can be found: Cheering fans, victorious players and of course lots of vuvuzelas bring back memories of the summer.

Dave has not allowed himself to be limited to conventional modes of artistic expression, either -- giving his work of art the shape of a hollowed-out sphere that, with its diameter of 2.5 meters, easily fits a person. Gaps in its walls allow the observer to not only gaze into the work, but to actually step inside it.

Like the existing three world cup works of art, "Reaching for the stars" will be auctioned off for charity at a later date after being signed by the Spanish and Dutch national teams.

Dave is proud to announce the completion of a new series of four works, titled „Decisions“. The works were commissioned by Bank Valiant and are on permanent display at their newly opened Basel branch.

At the heart of the series are two objects in the shape of groups of people, which are attached to the glass wall separating the building's entrance hall from the employee area. This placement allowed Dave to adorn these objects with images from all sides – two that are visible to anyone entering the building, and two that can only be seen by the employees on the other side of the wall.

The images included in these artworks throw up questions – and sometimes subtly play on their surroundings: Lines flowing over the objects and into each other, ants throning over bundles of banknotes, eyes peering through windows, and a hand whose fingers end in yet more hands that is extended towards the customer waiting in the entrance hall. A greeting? A warning? A sign?

If you are in the vicinity and want to make up your own mind, head to: Bank Valiant, Sternengasse 15, Basel.

We are proud to announce that a limited series of 10 lithographies depicting the first three DC perfomances is now available. All prints are numbered and hand-signed by Dave.

With these lithographies, Dave negates the volatile nature of these impressions. He wants to make it possible for people to let these impressions become part of their own world, to discover them for themselves within their own environment -- and thus maybe to become a part of this journey in thought.

For more information, please contact us directly.

E-Mail: info@fusionjourney.com
Telephone: +41 (0)61 765 96 08

The third performance in the "DC" series, bearing the title "Funeral", took place on June 10th, unannounced and in full view of the public. This time, the setting was not a historical location, but the art world itself -- in the shape of the Art Basel fair.

It is just past 7 PM. The exhibitions have been closed for a few minutes, but outside of the halls, art does not know closing times. The exhibition square, at one edge of which a gigantic black cross has been placed by artist Valentin Carron, is alive with the movement of hundreds of visitors and locals.

Suddenly, a few people in the crowd start coughing -- only a few at first and quietly, but then more, and finally dozens. They fall to the ground, twisting and turning. And suddenly, somehow, they are all wearing respirator masks and sunglasses. The people near them step back, unsure how to react.

Slowly, the performers shed their clothes, revealing images painted directly on their naked bodies. Now seemingly unaffected by their disease, they rise to their feet again and slowly start moving -- and the performance begins. Confused, the passers-by stand and stare. Some of them reach for their cameras.

After a few minutes, the performers line up, looking straight ahead. Their faces betraying no emotion, they stand there like some bizarre funeral procession, and the giant black cross behind them suddenly seems like a very fitting part of the image. Rothkoesque colour fields stretch across their bodies -- criscrossed by prison bars. Art, this scene seems to want to say, has died in captivity.

The group freezes for a few minutes, and then turns. A new image results. Rothko again, and over that, black lines forming the faces of two more captives whose noble ideas are often in danger of being crushed by harsh realities: That of Barack Obama, and that of Burmese freedom activist Aung San Suu Kyi.

This image stays in place for another few minutes. Then, the performers start moving again, collect their clothes and get dressed. And as suddenly as they have come, they have disappeared into the crowd again. The funeral for art is over. The audience applauds.

The economic boom years of the early 21st century have come to an end, and with them their mood of general optimism. In its place, we now find concern and uncertainty, and recession, offshore banking and bailouts for large corporations are the topics of the day.

The economy is cyclic by nature – it will keep on rising and falling for as long as it exists. But some things exist which are sustainable – and art is one of them. This is what Dave wants to remind people of with a new project, through which he is creating a novel opportunity for everyday people to share art's success.

It is now possible to become a partial co-owner for a limited number of Dave's works. By doing this, you automatically become a sponsor of the work. When Dave sells it, you are not only returned the amount you initially paid but also make a profit of at least 25% – or more, if the work is sold for a higher price than initially expected.

If the work isn't sold within 5 years, you have a chance to quit by selling your share of the work back to Dave for the same price you paid. You can also sell your share of the image to a third party at any point.

To ensure that all sponsors can be paid out in full once an artwork is sold, only one third of its estimated value is put up for co-ownership.

To Dave, this is not just a financing model. To him, this is more about spreading an idea and making it tangible through a concrete example – that idea being that the true value of art goes beyond any economic cycle, and that art can thus offer security and stability even when in insecure times.

The four works which are available for co-ownership can be found on the “art” section of this website: They are “Why won't you name me?”, “Therapy”, “Reflecting Athens” and “aWay”.

For further information, write to info@fusionjourney.com or call +41 79 693 07 03. More details will also be made available on this website shortly.

Only metres away from the Brandenburger Tor and the US embassy, we held our Berlin performance on Thursday. This is the second part of the "DC" project, continuing the story we began in Athens this February.

The performance bears the title "Hope or Hype". Here are some first impressions of the events. A video will follow in a few days.

Our most heartfelt thanks for helping to make this work go out to the good folks at Commerzbank who opened their door for us, Madelaine Teschner as well as Bernhard and Adelheid Siemianowski for their support and hospitality, Christine Meier for her painting assistance and of course to the performers, each and every one of whom did an absolutely amazing job. Of course, special thanks also go to Heike Stricker and Juliane Menzel for their brilliant photography.

The continued effort and enthusiasm you all invested into this performance prove that art will never lose its power to inspire, and to cause encounters between great people. It was a privilege and a great pleasure to meet you all!

Barack Obama: It seems like history will associate no other name with the years of 2008 and 2009 as much as this one. The new US president has managed to do something no other politician has done for a while: To capture the imagination of a nation in despair and inspire passion even far beyond US borders.

Many seem to view him almost as a sort of political messiah, others have their doubts -- some see a danger in this reverence. But whatever the case: Millions are projecting their hopes and fears onto him. Barack Obama is no longer just a person or a politician, but also a movement.

In every part of the world, the Obama phenomenon is combined with and clashes against local issues and history. Moving around these different places, what a traveller experiences seems almost like a snapshot of our time -- a picture of the world once again standing at the crossroads.

On our journey, we want to capture this moment and discover its lessons. From Athens, where our travels began, the road will lead us to Washington DC, and through cities around the world on the way. At each stop, a living fusion -- a form of performance -- will take place, showing another aspect of the Obama phenomenon against a local backdrop, and hopefully moving something.

Alongside with this, messages from people at every stop will be gathered and taken on to DC in the form of the world's largest book. More about that another time.

The first living fusion took place on Philopappou hill in Athens, Greece, on February 16th 2009. See for yourself, and remember: This was just the beginning.


IN THE MEDIA:

MSNBC - Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Times Online
Xinhua News
ITN
EuroNews
Blick
Macleans
Ekathimerini
CCTV international
20 minutes
livemint.com (The Wall Street Journal)
Globo.com
Comcast
This is Genius
Artfanatix.com
Sina.com
Artipedia
Bebo.com
Dimsyo.com
SomVid
It's a Kwazy Life
Waslijn.com
ButAsForMe.com
Breitbart.tv
Morninpaper.com
DailyRadar.com
Gay Armenia
22moon.com
Nujij
YouTube
LiveLeak
Right Pundits
China.com
BlinkX
DayLife
Magic828
Mefeedia.com
KicK!
Starpulse.com
Startlog.nl
MSN Netherlands
Towleroad

Welcome to the start of something new, and allow us to introduce ourselves.

We are four travellers who are embarking on a journey across the world -- not to any specific place, but with some specific goals in mind.

At the forefront is Dave, an artist by trade, and the creator of a completely new art form called Fusionism. Maybe you have heard of him for creating the official artworks for the FIFA world cups of 1998, 2002 and 2006 -- or maybe you haven't, yet.

Fusionism is the merging of people, sculpting, painting, photography, performance, film and sound -- it's something you've probably never seen before, and possibly something you never even thought was possible. It's art, but you don't have to be a contemporary art enthusiast to like it.

As we travel, things will be built, experiences had, discoveries made, people met, seeds sown. Everywhere we go, artworks will be created. We believe there are many things to learn in the world, and maybe a few things to teach.

We believe there should be an art project that goes beyond art, and this is our attempt.

Our story begins in Athens, Greece, a city recently shaken by riots and civil unrest. The year is 2009. Almost a decade into the 21st century, on a hilltop not far from the Acropolis, something odd happens...

More coming soon.